Number of foreign students in RP up by 63% in Q1 - BI

MANILA, Philippines - The number of foreign students seeking higher education in the country has increased in the first quater of this year, according to the Bureau of Immigration. From January to March, a total of 8,881 foreigners have been issued with student visas and study permits, BI records showed. Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said this is a 63 percent increase from the same period last year. "This development, on the increase in numbers of foreign students, is a vote of confidence by foreigners on the quality of our educational system," Libanan said in a statement. The increase in the number of foreign students in the country resulted to a P16-million collection that Libanan said "is a substantial contribution to our national coffer." The Immigration chief added that the increasing number of foreigners studying here props up the country's image not only as an attractive tourist destination but as a premier education center as well. "Many of these foreign students initially came here as tourists before deciding to study here," he said. Leading the list of foreign students were Koreans (4,717), followed by Chinese (536) and Americans (222). - GMANews.TV